Behind the Legend
by Kyuseisha no Hikari
Summary: After encountering two mysterious figures while retrieving books at a historical library, Daisuke and Satoshi are thrown into the afterwards of an ancient legend. Can they help two entities and free them from their curse before darkness takes them all?
1. Chapter 1

_Behind the Legend_

_After encountering two mysterious figures while retrieving books at the ancient library, Daisuke and Satoshi are thrown into the afterwards of an ancient legend. Can they help these two entities and free them from their curse before the darkness takes them all?_

_--_

_Chapter 1_

_--_

_'And the two mighty figures stood on the field, stained with the blood that once flowed from their veins. Surrounding the warriors were the many or few who wished to bid them farewell—facing the east, the direction of the rising sun stood a lone figure, with only one behind him, and facing the west, the direction of the setting sun stood an equally radiant figure-although he had behind him many of the townsfolk. With one last moment left before the two beings were banished from the mortal world-'_

The brown haired woman was interrupted as a bell rang, and hundreds of students began to file into the hallway—including hers as well..

"Wait!" She called, and hastily pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and scanned the page, reading the last few words. "There was a great shriek, and a black, ghostly figure appeared before the crowd, enveloping one of the two figures-and then, all was silent and they were no more! Class, this concludes our study of ancient myths and legends—don't forget to have your own written by the time we come back from holiday!"

She closed the book quickly and sighed. She sank down into her chair for a moment, placing her hand on her forehead as she pondered her predicament. She had only an hour to return this book before it was overdue—and her sister's bridal shower was starting in nearly that amount of time as well…Oh, if she didn't get the book back her perfect record would be ruined and—!

"Miss?" The small redheaded boy said, pausing to stop by his teacher's desk on the way out of the classroom. "Are you alright?"

She blinked and smiled. "I'm fine, I just have too many things to do to return this book tonight…"

Satoshi smirked as he walked to his friend, already seeing what Daisuke was going to do.

"I can take it! It's on my way home, anyway. Besides, Ms. Harada needed to pick up a book anyway-I'm sure it won't be a problem."

Daisuke was….so predictable.

"You would do that for me? Oh, thank you so much Daisuke!"

Daisuke took the book off of his teacher's desk and nodded. "It's not a problem!"

Standing up and rushing to the door, the teacher called, "Thank you! Have a good vacation!" and was gone in a matter of seconds, leaving the two eighth grade boys waiting for the Harada sisters.

Daisuke cast a hesitant glance towards them, as if silently asking if they were ready to go, and Riku hissed to her younger sister, "Risa! Hurry up—They're waiting on _you_!"

"I'm sorry!" Risa muttered, as she finally managed to shove whatever of her possessions that still lie on the desk into her bag. "I'm ready—happy?"

Riku nodded and walked towards the two boys, her sister following closely behind her. "Alright. So, we're stopping at the library?"

Satoshi nodded, and Daisuke held up the book for her to see, saying, "I hope you don't mind…"

"Oh! Not at all," she said, nodding, pleased that she finally had a chance to stop at the library and pick up a book for her project.

As the four teenagers clustered together, an awkward silence broke over them. After what seemed to be a long moment, Satoshi broke said silence when he asked, "Shall we leave now?"

"Yeah," Riku said, as she turned into the now empty hallway and stepped through the door. "You coming?" she called, when none of the other's had followed her.

"Oh! Yes, Ms. Harada," Daisuke replied as he hastily strode to catch up with the girl. Satoshi merely made a gesture indicating for Risa to go first, and then pushing his glasses elegantly up the ridge of his nose, he followed suite.

--

"So…why are we here again?" Risa said as she randomly blew a strand of hair out of her face.

"Returning a book," he elder sister said, scowling.

"Well why did _I_ have to come?" She muttered, only to be answered with a swift glare from her sister.

"I'll be back in a minute," Riku grumbled, as she walked towards the back of the room.

Daisuke dropped the old, leather bound book into the return slot at the front desk and slowly walked inside. Satoshi followed him unenthusiastically, and eventually the smaller of the two males turned and asked him, "Hey, Satoshi, do you have any ideas for what you're going to write?"

The blue haired boy shook his head slightly, "I haven't really thought about it. What about you?"

Daisuke's shoulders slumped. "I've been trying to think about _something_, but I'm just not getting anything…"

A small smile stained Satoshi's pale lips as he watched Daisuke pout, and than offered, "If you'd like, you can come over sometime and we can work together on it."

Daisuke immediately brightened, raising his gaze. "Really? You mean that?"

Satoshi nodded, "Of course. I'm not doing anything for the holiday, anyway."

"You're not doing anything for Thanksgiving? Not getting together with your family? Not _anything_?" The red head asked, seemingly appalled when Satoshi said, "I don't do _anything._ I never have, and I probably never will."

"No! Don't say that! If I tell my mom, I'm _sure_ she'd love to have you over!" Daisuke hissed quietly, forcing himself to keep a low voice.

"Don't do that—I don't want to impose," Satoshi said with a stern voice.

"No—really; You can come over to my house for Thanksgiving dinner and we can work on writing a myth, okay?"

Satoshi had been about to protest, but seeing the determined look his friend had donned he decided against it. "Fine, Daisuke, you win. I'll go."

"All right! Let's go find Miss Harada, now—maybe she's finished."

Satoshi sighed, "Daisuke—call them by their first names, okay? I never can tell who you're talking about…"

--

Riku closed another book, scoffing at its uselessness. "Risa—have you found anything that might help us?"

"Huh? Help us with what?" The girl said, looking over at her sister with a confused face.

"With our _project_! The one we're supposed to be doing over break!"

"Oh, _that_ one!"

"Like there's another one?" Riku hissed, rolling her eyes at her sister.

"Now, now—_ladies_, maybe I can be of assistance?"

The two girls looked behind them to find an older looking male. Violet eyes flashed and he donned a charming grin as messy amethyst hair set his facial features. He wore upon him a dark ensemble, consisting of what appeared to be very outdated clothes—and if Riku had been a historian, she might have guessed it was at least a good number of centuries out of style.

"Who…are you?" Riku asked, as her sister's mouth opened—agape with awe.

"Just call me Dark. What about you—what are your names?"

"I'm Risa, and this is Riku!" The long, chocolate haired girl said eagerly, wanting to say something to such an attractive male.

"The pleasure's all mine. Now, what can I help you with? Are you looking for something?" He asked, winking at Risa.

Riku simply rolled her eyes, muttering, "I need something about folklore…legends, all that stuff."

Dark nodded, and walked down an isle of books. Pulling one almost randomly, he tossed it to the girl. "Does that one suit your needs?"

She flipped through it briefly, and raised a brow. How had she missed this? "Thanks. Do you work here or something?"

He shook his head. "Nah—I always thought working at a library would be a boring job. I guess you could say I just spend a lot of my free time here."

"Funny, I've never seen you before," Came an icy voice, and three sets of eyes fell upon Satoshi.

"Musta' missed me is all," Dark said, shrugging. "Anyway, I'm gonna be heading out of here for now. I'll see you guys later?"

"Maybe…" Riku said, and then asked curiously, "What's up with that costume—do you actually wear that outside?"

Dark smiled wryly, "I do. Why—does it bother you? I'd gladly take it off, if you wanted."

"You pervert—I probably _won't_ be seeing you, if that's what your like…."

Risa sighed, dreamily, and oblivious to her sister's negative sense towards the older teenager said, "I hope I'll see you again soon!"

Giving her a final wink, and a wave to the other three eighth graders around him, Dark walked away and vanished behind a large bookshelf.

"Okay…what was that all about?" Daisuke asked, looking from Risa to Riku's faces/

"He just came to help us find a book," Riku said, scoffing. "Anyway, let's go."

Risa, still in bliss, nodded drunkenly and followed her sister and Daisuke when they began to head towards the front of the ancient building.

Satoshi, meanwhile, lingered behind for just a few moments. Staring at the place where Dark disappeared, he pondered for a long moment. There was definitely something…strange—something magical about that boy, but he couldn't quite say he knew what it was. Shaking his head, he turned to follow the others when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye.

Jerking his head to the side, he caught a glimpse of long blonde hair disappearing behind a large wall of books. Taking quick strides, Satoshi headed over to where he had just caught this and looked around. There was no one to be seen, and in a mere second a strange sense of unease washed over him.

The area around him grew very cold, and a dark shadow fell over him just before his breath caught in his chest.

"_Satoshi_! Are you coming?" Riku called with an impatient tone, and the boy gasped quickly as a rush of air fell back into his lungs.

What the _hell_ had that just been?

"I'm coming!" He said loud enough for them to hear, and stepped away from the dark corner, walking quickly towards the group.

Daisuke looked at him strangely for a moment before asking hesitantly, "Satoshi? Are you all right…you look like you've just seen a ghost…."

Satoshi raised a brow, "Don't speak nonsense—I didn't see anything."

Riku shrugged. "In any case, let's get going before it gets too dark."

With a jumble of muffled agreements, the four walked into the chilling air, oblivious to the cold set of eyes that watched them depart.

--

_Just so everyone knows, this is an AU and…well, there may be some rather clumsy writing here…I seem to have acquired a bad habit of late, so I hope you can forgive me and if you have any constructive criticism to offer, I'd gladly take it. Other then that, I suppose I want you to know that I am NOT a huge fan of Risa and Riku—but I didn't want to make any original characters up, so please just bear with me. They'll only be in it on…brief occasion from this point on. _


	2. Chapter 2

_**Behind the Legend**_

_After encountering two mysterious figures while retrieving books at the ancient library, Daisuke and Satoshi are thrown into the afterwards of an ancient legend. Can they help these two entities and free them from their curse before the darkness takes them all?_

_--_

_Chapter 2_

_--_

Daisuke shifted uneasily in front of the mansion, the cold chill biting at his flesh. Hesitantly, he reached foreword, his finger shaking, for the doorbell.

Yelping when the door flung open before he could press the small button, Daisuke quickly drew his hand to his chest. "Uhm…Hi, Satoshi…"

"Hello, Daisuke. Come in?"

Daisuke nodded, clutching his bag tightly as he entered the surprisingly dark residence of his best friend. "So…Uhm…wh-where should we start?"

Satoshi shrugged. "I thought we could head to the library again in a little bit. I want to do some research there."

Daisuke swallowed, looking around. "I see. We should have looked when we were there the other day instead of just waiting for Miss Harada to—"

"Daisuke…"

"Sorry…While we were waiting for Miss Riku to get her books," The redhead said as he corrected himself, all the while fidgeting nervously.

"Is something wrong?" the blue haired boy asked, noting the strange unease that the boy before him continued to emit.

"N-no…not really. You're house just seems…a lot darker…"

"Are you scared of the dark?" Satoshi asked, stalking to a light switch as he clicked on a few more of them.

"No…but…I've been having these weird feelings lately…" the smaller boy said as he looked away—almost in an embarrassed fashion.

Satoshi…found this to be very peculiar, and pried further, "Weird feelings? Like what?"

Daisuke shrugged. "Like…someone's always watching me. But every time I look no one's there. It happened on my way to your house…near the old library. And whenever it's dark…"

"Hmm…"

"But, it's silly, isn't it? I mean—I'm just overreacting, right?" Daisuke said, smiling falsely.

"No. It isn't silly, Daisuke," the blue haired boy said in a surprisingly cold manner. "You should trust your instinct. If something doesn't feel right, get away, understand?"

"I…sure, but…why, Satoshi?"

The redhead was horribly taken aback by his friend's sudden change in attitude and swallowed nervously as the sapphire-eyed boy replied, "Because the same thing keeps happening to me, and I have a bad feeling about it."

"Are you superstitious, then?"

"No, I'm not. You?"

Daisuke shook his head. "No. My mom is…sorta, but not me or my dad…"

"Good. Then you won't mind if we head to the library?"

"I…no…" Came the shaky answer.

"Let's go, then. Get your bag," Satoshi said as he clicked off the lights, ushering Daisuke to exit before him. Eagerly, the younger redhead did just so, and missed seeing his friend toss a worried glance into the dark shadows of the living room.

--

"Do you think that boy will be there?" Satoshi said, seeing the outline of the ancient library grow in size as the two neared it.

"Which one—Dark, I think?"

"Yes, that one."

"I don't know," Daisuke said as he shrugged, "Why?"

"No reason."

No words were spoken for a long moment, and only the quite shuffle of feet was exchanged between the two boys, accompanied by the sound of thunder crackling in the distance.

"What are you hiding from me?" Daisuke asked, almost timidly.

"What?" Satoshi said, raising his gaze from the cold cement to meet the other's fiery red eyes.

"You heard me, Satoshi—what are you hiding?"

"I don't know…nothing?"

"Liar…what aren't you telling me?" The redhead said, almost pouting as the two continued to trudge onward.

"Nothing, really…"

"We're not going to the library to look up things for our project, so why are we going?"

Satoshi raised a brow curiously, silently questioning the young Niwa, who merely gave a quick reply, "You have a computer we could have looked things up…and we just passed the _new_ library, so I figured there must be some reason that you wanted to go to the other library. Some reason that you weren't telling me…"

Satoshi cracked a slight smile. "You figured me out, I guess. The guy there…Dark…after he left and you and the Harada's went to check out the book I saw—felt something weird. I wanted to check it out, is all."

"So why did I come?"

"Because I need someone else there to make sure I'm not insane if it happens again," The blue haired boy said, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh…I see," Daisuke said smiling. _He probably just didn't want to go alone…_

_--_

"So this is where you felt it?" Daisuke asked as he traced a hand down a dusty bookshelf and stared into a particularly dark corner that Satoshi happened to be occupying.

The blue haired boy stared up at the ceiling, and nodded. "Yeah. And I saw some one run back here, too…"

"Oh?" Daisuke said, his arm falling to his side as he walked over and stood next to his friend, staring at the ceiling along side him.

The quiet pattering of rain bouncing of the aged roof was heard and echoed quite loudly in the almost completely unoccupied region of the building.

"Blonde hair, and it looked like he was—" Satoshi stopped in mid sentence when the hair on the back of his neck rose, and a shiver ran down his spine.

Out of the corner of his eye he could make out Daisuke, who swallowed harshly and seemed to be shaking. "Sa…Satoshi?" he whispered.

"Niwa? Do you feel that?" Satoshi said, trying to keep his heart rate at a normal pace.

The red head nodded slightly, nearly whimpering at the strange feeling that seemed to be plaguing the two. "what is it?"

"I don't know…"

Satoshi took a great breath, and prepared to turn on his heels and face the presence he felt behind him when he heard a voice call out quietly, "What are you doing here?"

The overwhelming sensation seemed to evaporate slightly for a second, and two sets of eyes fell upon a new figure.

A blonde, coated in almost exactly the same attire Dark had worn days before, stood before them—his face pallid and gaunt—tight with worry…covered in blood.

Daisuke suppressed the urge to let out a cry of shock at the ghastly sight, but he never had a chance.

The blonde's eyes widened at some unseen force, and his knees bent slightly–implying that heplannedto bolt.

Satoshi had no time to call out for him to cease his action before the blonde had dashed around a corner, a strange shadow lifting from atop of the two young teenagers as it seemed to chase after him.

Neither of them moved for a long moment, and then Daisuke said, "Are we going after him?"

Satoshi nodded, "Yes."

--

_Yes, yes—I know this chapter is rather…horribly written, but give me a break. I've been up since six o' clock this morning to…oh, my—it's one a.m. right now. Well, I'll have to reply to my reviews tomorrow, so if you are looking for those, I apologize. Please forgive me for the late update and the shoddiness of this chapter…and I do hope you can bare with me… until I can get my act together and make this story a presentable piece of work…_


	3. Chapter 3

**Behind The Legend**

_Kyuseisha no Hikari_

_Chapter 3_

_--_

The two teenagers, following suit of the blonde, dashed around the same archaic bookshelves he had. Looking around swiftly, neither could say they were astounded when they found no trace of either the looming shadow's presence or of the enigmatic blonde.

Satoshi swore silently, taking large strides and glancing down each intersecting isle—hoping that by some scant chance the male would appear. Satoshi did not understand what was going on…and it was most irritating on his part.

"Niwa…you don't see anything?" He asked, tossing his gaze from the many perpendicular bookshelves to the young redhead beside him.

Worry evident on his features, Daisuke shook his head. "Nothing out of the ordinary. It's like…he just…vanished in midair…"

"That's the impression I was receiving," Satoshi said bitterly. We came to get an answer, and now all we've found is more, he thought, shaking his head.

"Wait…Satoshi!"

Daisuke's form stood rigid, he backed up and pointed to a distant wall. "Over there—who's that?"

Satoshi froze, changing his step forward to a step backward in order to see what his friend had gestured at. He drew in a sharp breath. "Just who we were looking for."

"Hey, you!" Daisuke called, stepping toward the violet haired male, who lazily flipped through an old, worn out book.

Amethyst eyes rose from the crumbled text, a confused expression imprinted on the tanned face. Quickly it faded into a wide grin. "Oh, hey. You two. The ones with the twins. Didn't catch your names, though."

"Yeah…right. I'm Daisuke," the redhead said, walking closer to the taller figure. Satoshi walked behind him, adding his name. "Satoshi," he said simply, "and you?"

"Dark. Mousy, to be exact: Dark Mousy," came the response.

"Yes…Can we ask you a question, Dark?"

Violet eyes scanned cerulean, and Dark took little time to answer, "I guess. What can I help you with?"

"A boy. He ran through here a few moments ago…did you happen to see anyone…?"

Dark's eyes narrowed. "No, not that I can say…what did he look like?"

Daisuke spoke up when Satoshi did not. "He had…extremely long hair. It was blonde, I think. He was pale…and…that's all I can remember."

Shock stained Dark's face; he didn't have time to clear his expression before the two boys caught it.

"You know him?" Satoshi asked, his brow arching.

"I…" It was too late to cover up, Dark thought, and nodded a moment later. "Yeah, I know him. I see him around, in any case. Sometimes."

"How often? When was the last time? What was that thing that was chasing him—?" Daisuke sputtered, and Satoshi gently prodded his shoulder. "Hush. One question at a time, Daisuke, all right?" His gaze turned to Dark. "What do you know about him?"

"Wait…forget that—what was chasing him? What did it look like?" The violet haired male said, his eyes darting from face to face. "Was he in trouble?"

"He was…covered in something that looked like blood and running from some…shadow. That's all we know. We were hoping you might be able to help us…?" Daisuke mumbled, watching as Dark's face contorted into a grimace.

"Dammit…which direction did he run in?" he sputtered, running a hand through his tangled mane.

"That's precisely what we were trying to find out, if you've forgotten that already," Satoshi commented, "But he's gone. We didn't see where he ran off too, and even if we did he's probably too far ahead of us to catch."

"…You're right," Dark replied sullenly, leaning forward and resting his head on the bookshelf in an exasperated sense. He closed his eyes and heaved a heavy sigh. "Dammit…"

"You…know him closely, right? You seem so worried…" the smallest of the trio stated, prying gently.

"Yeah. He and I go…way back."

"What's his name?"

Satoshi fell silent, letting Daisuke do the questioning, and instead focused his gaze on the surroundings. This was a corridor he was certain he'd not seen…as a boy he had spent most of his time in libraries, collecting data and advancing his knowledge of countless topics; he had been more than certain there was no nook or cranny, even, that he had not presented himself in at least once, so…how was it possible he had missed an _entire_ set of bookshelves—dozens of them, in fact…

"It's Krad," Dark huffed.

"That's an interesting name. It's…that's your name backwards, right?" Daisuke asked, placing a finger on his chin in thought.

"Yeah."

"That's _really_ interesting. How did you guys meet?"

"Look, kid—_Daisuke_—this isn't twenty questions, okay? You don't need to know, that's not important," Dark said, the sheer inquisitiveness of the boy irking him.

"Oh…right. I'm sorry…"

"Come on Daisuke, we should go," Satoshi said, reaching a tentative hand out and clutching the boy's sleeve. He turned, Daisuke following. "Why…?"

"I've got something I have to look up, and since we're at the library, I figure we should do it now."

"But what about Krad…?"

"Don't worry about that," Satoshi said with a shrug, "It's none of our business, you know."

"Well…yeah. Hey, hold on, okay?" the redhead stated, pulling away from Satoshi for a scant second to face Dark.

"Hey, Dark? Tha…" Words died on his lips and the empty air before him. "Dark?"

The azure haired boy paused in his stride, tossing a careless glance behind him. Daisuke stood, staring where Dark should have been, but instead where only air remained.

"Huh. That's weird. Anyway, where are we going?" Daisuke asked, turning on his heels to face Satoshi again.

"To do our research. We should at least try while we're here, right?" Came the monotonous answer, laced with a persuasive demeanor.

"Uh…yeah, right, I guess."

--

Standing in line to check out the number of books he had attained during their stay, Satoshi flipped through the index of one. Interested, Daisuke watched on. "What book is that…?"

Satoshi shrugged. "Ghosts. Demons. The Occult. You know."

"Why did you get that one? Does it have anything to do with our research?" Daisuke asked, leaning closer into the ancient tome.

"It does, though probably not in the sense that you meant it."

Daisuke, clueless, raised his gaze to meet Satoshi's. "What?"

"Nothing. I want to look something up is all, and I fear it might be best just to check this book out. It will save us the time of coming back to look at it if it has what I need."

"Oh. I see…" Daisuke murmured, though his voice portrayed his uncertainty.

"Hey…can I ask you something?"

Daisuke looked, again, at Satoshi with the same inquiring eyes. "Uhm…yeah, sure. What is it?"

"My house. Will you spend the night tonight? It'll help get this done quicker."

"I don't see a problem with that. I'll ask my mom—she probably won't care. I think…"

Satoshi let out a small chuckle, "All right. That works, at least. Thank you."

The boy's cheerful response, "No problem!"

--

For the second time that day, Daisuke felt himself standing in front of the doors of Satoshi's forlorn abode. He rang the doorbell, rocking back and forth on the heels of his feet as he waited, and in a matter of seconds Satoshi had opened the door.

"Daisuke—I'm glad you're here. I want you to read something, okay?" Satoshi said, immediately stepping inside the house and gesturing for the other boy to do the same.

The redhead did so with little hesitation, shifting the bag he held on his shoulders in mild irritation. "Okay. But…first, can I put this down? It weighs a lot…"

Pausing, Satoshi turned and looked at the bulging back Daisuke was currently holding. "Of course. What's in there?"

"Books. And things my mom wouldn't let me leave the house without. She said I should take a lot of things…I really don't think I'll need," Daisuke admitted with a small chuckle, a nervous blush faintly appearing on his cheeks.

"Ah, I see. Well, in that case, the spare bedroom is right down this corridor—meet me in my study when you've finished…?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll be there in a second," Daisuke said, rushing off towards the instructed room. Quickly dropping his belongings by the side of the bed, he exited the room and followed the winding hallway that eventually took him to Satoshi's study. He arrived briskly, and Satoshi didn't bother to raise his gaze. "Come here," he instructed.

Daisuke did so, frowning when he saw the marks littering the books checked out from the library. Satoshi, holding a highlighter in his hand, drew over another sentence. "Uhm…aren't you…not supposed to do that…?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"I called the library and asked if it was alright if I kept these books, assuming I paid them the proper amount to replace them. They didn't have a problem, so these are mine to do with as I please. Sit down?"

"Sure…so, what did you find?"

The blue haired boy shrugged, pushing a book over to Daisuke. "Open it to page ninety-seven. Second paragraph down. It's highlighted, anyway, so you can't miss it."

Opening the book, Daisuke flipped to the desired page, his eyes scanning the contents. "This is for our report…?" he asked before starting.

"Yes, and no. Yes, because it does have to do with the myth we were supposed to have read. No, because it sort of drags away from the story."

"Oh? How so…All I see is a bunch of stuff about conjured demons and shadow monsters…"

"Precisely the point. You recall the story read to us the other day? It said that there was a demon conjured, eternally bound to chase one of the spirits. If you don't remember, there's a copy of that story to your right…"

"No, no, that's okay. But…why did you highlight it…? Is it really that important?"

"Flip the page."

Daisuke did so, his eyes widening in surprise as he looked intently at the image printed before him. "That…looks like the thing we saw at the library."

"Precisely."

"But I thought you weren't superstitious…why did you check this book out in the first place?"

"Recent events have forced me to take attention in things otherwise irrelevant to my interests or beliefs."

"Oh…Dark and Krad and the shadow…" Daisuke mused aloud.

"Precisely," Satoshi repeated. "And speaking of those two…the book I just told you about; the copy of that old legend. Open it up to the first page or so. This version is more detailed than the one that was read at school. I suspect because it is much less childish."

"You've read it?" Daisuke asked, reaching out and pulling the book towards him with a gentle grip.

"Some. Not much. Are you there yet?"

"Yeah…now what?"

"Read the page, and tell me what you find."

The redhead moaned, "Satoshi, it would be just so much easier if you would just tell me…"

"Alright, fine. But I think we should have a talk with Dark tomorrow. And Krad, if we could find him…"

"Why's that?"

In all seriousness, Satoshi raised his face from the book his nose was in, and removed his glasses. Looking over to Daisuke as he rubbed the lenses across his shirt, he sighed, "Because their names were in that book."

_--_

_Oh, don't kill me! I seriously have been busy! Meditation and doing…author-ly things. No, all right, fine, I'm lying. I ran out of motivation to write anything, but I'm back, and I plan to update everything as soon as possible, all right? I'm so sorry!_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Behind the Legend**_

--

_After encountering two mysterious figures while retrieving books at a historical library, Daisuke and Satoshi are thrown into the afterwards of an ancient legend. Can they help two entities and free them from their curse before darkness takes them all?_

_--_

_Chapter 4_

--

The library opened at nine o'clock in the morning; Daisuke and Satoshi were there by eight thirty.

Despite their late night, both boys had been able to rouse themselves early enough. They changed into warm clothes; Daisuke had donned a dark brown jacket over a pair of black pants and a white shirt, and Satoshi wore all black. The November air was chilly, though bearable enough for the two boys to withstand waiting outside for a few moments. The lack of anything to do, however, drove them across the street to the small bakery.

They took their seats, ordering hot chocolate and muffins, as they waited.

Satoshi stared for a long moment at the two-story building, his eyes darting over the extent of the library's exterior. Daisuke took a sip of his drink. "Don't you think that it might just be a coincidence that they shared names with the characters from the book?" he said quietly, almost as if afraid to break the silence that had come over the small shop.

A set of blue eyes attached themselves to the speaker. "No. I may be wrong, of course, but isn't it just a _little_ odd. Shadows moving of their own free will. People disappearing into thin air. A boy covered in _blood_. I want to know why."

"Oh," Daisuke said with a nod, "Right. Me, too." He sloshed around the dark liquid in the ceramic mug in his hands, watching it splash against the sides of the glass. "It is pretty weird."

Satoshi picked up the plain muffin in front of him and took a small bite. "More than weird."

From across the road, two chattering women got out from their car and made their way toward the library. Satoshi immediately recognized the smaller of the two women to be the librarian.

They made their way to the door of the building, unlocked it, and disappeared inside. Lights flicked on downstairs, and a face appeared in one of the windows upstairs. Only there for a moment, Satoshi had little time to focus on the person's features, though he was positively certain it hadn't been one of the women. There was no way one of them could have climbed the stairs so quickly…

"Come on Daisuke. Finish up," he said, "the library's open. If we get in now, we might even be able to ask the librarians some questions."

Daisuke nodded eagerly, lifting the mug to his mouth and downing the rest of its creamy contents. He rose from his chair, Satoshi doing the same. They made their way across the road and into the library.

One of the women was bustling about, still turning on lights and unlocking doors and turning on computers. She turned to meet the two. "Well, hello, there! You two are here bright and early. Can I help you with something?"

"Actually…yes, I think you might be able to," Satoshi said, adjusting his glasses. "I was wondering if you could maybe answer a few questions about this library…it's for a school report, you see. Would you mind?"

The woman gave a hearty smile. "Of course not. I'd love to."

"Right. Well, then. Is there anything…weird about this library?"

A puzzled look appeared on the woman's features. "I'm not quite sure what you mean," she said.

"Like…have there ever been any incidents that you couldn't explain? Strange figures? Shadows?"

The smile returned, and the woman crossed her arms. "You two are asking about the ghosts."

Daisuke looked thoughtful, and Satoshi nodded. "I suppose we are. Would you tell us about them?"

"I don't think it could hurt. There's one that's here all the time. I see him, but 'Lena over there tells me it's all in my head. He never says anything, just watches. I feel his presence more than I see him…he's one for the shadows."

"What does he look like?" Daisuke asked, suddenly.

The woman shrugged. "I don't know. Every time I see him, he's familiar to me, yet when he's gone, I can't place his face."

"But you know it's a he?"

The woman nodded. "Definitely. And there are other ones. Ghosts, I think. You might think me crazy, but I have my beliefs. Most of them are shadows. Things happen around here that I can't explain," the woman said, tucking a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear before continuing, "Not bad things, just…_strange_ things. I've locked this place up at night with stacks of books needing to be sorted and come back in the morning to find them all gone. Lights come on and off. People have told me that there's someone in the library—a young man—that always offers to help. They say he has wild, dark hair, always dressed up in some weird outfit. They tell me to thank him, but I've never seen him."

The woman shrugged. "And I would know. I remember every face that walks into that door, and the way they describe him, I know that I've definitely not seen him around."

The two boys exchanged glances before casually continuing. Satoshi raised a brow, "Do they ever give you a name?"

"Of course. Dozens of people have told me he's introduced himself as a Dark Mousy. Now, I'm not saying that he's a ghost, but I am saying that I've never seen him. I find that to be awkward, so I have my speculations. All I know is that this Dark fellow most certainly isn't my ghost."

"Your ghost?" Satoshi asked. "The one you can see?"

"Right," the woman stated, and after Satoshi asked, "How do you know?" she responded, "Because he isn't social. I've seen him many times over these past few years, but he's never said a single word to me. I know he watches me, and I don't mind. He's not menacing. Just…curious, I suppose. And sad. I get that impression when he's in the room. Everything seems to get darker, and I have this overwhelming sensation of grief."

She chuckled, "I feel so silly telling you boy's this. What's your project on?"

"Oh, you know. We're researching hauntings and doing an report on the presence of ghosts," Satoshi said, lacking his usual eloquence. "We figured, since this library is so old, that it might be a good place to start."

The woman cocked her head to the side a bit. "Is that so? Well, I've got to do a few things around the library, but if you need anything else, feel free to come find me. You boys enjoy yourself; good luck."

The boys nodded in unison. "Thank you for time, ma'am," Satoshi murmured before he dragged Daisuke upstairs. "Let's start up here, shall we?"

Daisuke nodded and looked around, eyeing the vast rows of books. His gaze drifted from the books to the maroon carpeted floor to the arched wooden ceiling. "This place is beautiful," he said after a moment. Satoshi shrugged. "In a way. It was built to be. Let's look for Dark, since he always seems to be here. Krad, too, but be careful if you see him."

"Why's that?"

"Because last time we saw him, something was chasing with him. If it's dangerous, we don't want to come in contact."

"But the woman said that nothing bad had ever happened because of the ghosts."

"But then, Daisuke, why would the ghost be covered in blood?" Satoshi gave a brief pause before sighing. He shook his head, "Never mind, Daisuke. Just look for anyone, I suppose. Keep an eye out for books that might be useful for writing a myth, too."

The redhead nodded. "Sure thing."

--

Daisuke reached his hand out to graze over the spines of a few tattered books. Gold lettering was printed on the back of black, cotton like covers. He sighed. No sign of anyone for nearly half an hour, but what had he expected?

His shoulders sagging, the redhead took a few steps back. Out of the corner of his eye, something sparkled against the dull light. Cocking his head to the side, the boy turned his gaze to the figure at the end of the aisle.

His ruby eyes widened; before him stood the not-so-familiar sight of the blonde he had briefly encountered the previous day. The figure stood, arms crossed, against the back bookshelf. He was donned in a white ensemble, greatly contrasting with what he had worn the previous day. Before, he had worn slack, baggy clothes, dark in color. They looked like they might have belonged to someone of stature, though no one of importance. Today, however, the blonde wore a white robe, trimmed with gold hems. The clothes, while concealing, left little to the imagination. It was apparent to Krad that the figure before him was lean, with narrow shoulders. He had elegant, graceful limbs, and long, gloved hands. His hair tied back in a tight ponytail, and Daisuke eyed with suspicion the golden cross tied at the end of its length.

The boy swallowed, looking over the figure with great curiosity. The male made no movement, at first, but then pushed himself away from the bookshelf with a wary glance towards the aisle down his left. He hurried towards Daisuke, who took a step backward in alarm.

The blonde froze, watching as Daisuke scuttled away, and quickly waved his hands in a dismissive gesture. He himself took a few steps back, as if to show he would be no harm.

Funny, Daisuke thought, how when he moved, he made no noise.

The man's lips moved, as if he was speaking, though no words came out. He looked at Daisuke, hopefully. The redhead shook his head. "I can't hear you," he said weakly.

The man's eyes closed, and he heaved a great sigh. Despair racked his features, and sank to the floor. One knee raised, he rested his elbow atop it, pressing his head into the nook his bent elbow made.

"Krad?" Daisuke asked, tentatively.

The male raised his head quickly and looked at the boy. Astonishment on his features, his lips moved again. Silent words rang from his mouth.

Daisuke strained to read his lips. It almost looked like he'd said…

"How do I know you're name?"

The silent figure nodded.

"Someone told me. A man named Dark."

Astonishment was wielded once again, and Krad jumped to his feet. He was speaking frantically, making rapid gestures with his hands. His eyes danced with hope.

Daisuke shook his head. "No—please. I still can't understand you! Don't speak so fast."

The blonde paused before nodding. He tried again, slower this time. His lips read, _'Where is he?'_

"Dark?"

The blonde nodded.

"Satoshi is looking for him, I think."

The name was repeated on the blonde's lips.

"My friend. I was here with him, yesterday. Did you see him?"

Krad nodded and quickly moved next to Daisuke, who watched him curiously, no longer startled. The blonde was chattering again, and the small boy had to speak up again, "I still can't hear you. Do you want me to go get Satoshi?"

Krad nodded. Daisuke picked up the bag he had let fall to his feet and slid it over his arm. "All right. I'll get him," he said, noting how Krad followed a few steps behind him.

Satoshi was easy enough to find, leer into a book while standing in a distant corner of the library. He looked up, eyes widening slightly as he scanned over Daisuke, and Krad behind him.

"You found him?" he asked, almost astonished that Daisuke would have such luck. The boy nodded. "I did. But you can't talk to him."

"Why is that?" Satoshi asked, unable to take his gaze away from the blonde, who scanned over the boy in much the same manner that Satoshi scanned over him.

"I can't hear him."

"But that doesn't mean I can't."

Daisuke's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"Yesterday, he said something to me. He asked me what I was I was doing here. Did you not?"

Satoshi focused his last words to the blonde, who nodded.

"Why? People come to this library all the time. Why did you ask me what I was doing?"

There was a long pause. "Because I knew you could see me," the robed figure whispered.

Satoshi's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean? Daisuke can see you."

"But I _know_ you," came the feeble reply.

Satoshi looked at the blonde for a long moment. "Well I don't know you."

The blue haired boy did not speak for a long moment, and the blonde's gaze sank ruefully to the floor. "Are you the one the woman was telling us about? The ghost that doesn't talk?"

"I don't know. There are others here," Krad said, his voice distant.

Daisuke worked hard to read the lips of the blonde as he spoke, and he turned to Satoshi. "I think he is."

"Why is that?"

Daisuke shrugged. "Because I've got this sinking feeling in my heart."

Krad looked remorsefully at the younger boy. His lips moved, though Daisuke didn't have to hear to know that he was apologizing.

"Tell me, Krad. What are you doing here?"

The silky voice returned, "I can go no where else."

"Why is that?"

The blonde shook his head. "I can't say."

Satoshi crossed his arms. "Can't say…or won't."

"Both."

"What do you know of Dark?"

The calm demeanor Krad had only just recently attained shattered, and his face lost all color. His eyes flashed, and his mouth twitched. He fought for words, though could not bring any to his tongue. After a long moment of struggling, finally he was able to say in a whisper, "Is he here?"

"I should think so. He's standing right behind you," Satoshi said with a shrug.

The blonde turned on his heels, staring hopefully. All that was before him was empty space. He faced the blue-haired boy again, confusion in his every motion. "Why would you lie…?" He asked, pain lacing his quiet words.

"I wasn't lying," Satoshi said, offended. "He is. Or can't you see him?"

Krad turned again, though not a soul was in sight beside the two boys. "I cannot."

"So, Satoshi," Dark said, "Since when did you start talking to yourself?"

Satoshi and Daisuke both looked around Krad and toward the figure leaning against the bookshelf. "I'm not talking to myself. I'm talking to Krad."

Dark snorted, though it was evident that he had been surprised by Satoshi's words. "I don't see him."

"And he doesn't see you, apparently. He's right in front of me, I assure you. Just as I assure him that you stand over there by that bookshelf."

Krad stared towards the bookshelf, and Dark towards the empty space of air next to the speaking boy. "You lie," Dark spat, charging forward. He reached out a hand as if to throttle the boy, though was hit by a brutal shove.

He tripped over his own to feet, colliding with one of the bookshelves lining the wall. Emitting a curse, he looked to the source of the shove, only to find air. "What the hell?"

"He says 'don't touch him'," Satoshi murmured, watching as Dark picked himself up and looked around.

"Then…he's really there?" Dark looked hopeful. "You aren't lying—Krad's _really_ there?"

"He really is. And he just shoved you into that bookshelf."

"But I thought you said he couldn't see me," Dark argued.

Satoshi frowned. "I thought he said he couldn't see you, too."

He glanced at the blonde, who shrugged. "I don't know what happened," he said, rubbing his shoulder. "I knew he was there."

"Daisuke, what do you recommend for this? You and your mother are the one's trained for handling ghosts."

Daisuke's eyes widened. "What? How did you…How did you know that? I never said anything about it."

"You have things lying about your house. I've seen them. I merely assumed."

"You assumed right," Daisuke said, his brows furrowing in thought. "What's the problem?"

"I can't see Krad. And he can't see me," Dark said bitterly.

"You're not human, are you, Dark?"

Dark raised a brow. "Of course I'm human, Daisuke. I'm just a little different from you guys."

"How is that?"

"Because I don't happen to be alive, anymore."

"We'd figured that much out," Satoshi began, only pause in his sentence.

Krad had turned on his heels and was quickly walking away. "Where are you going?"

The blonde hurried away. "I have to leave. I've been gone for too long. Someone will notice."

"You can't leave!"

"I have to!"

"Will you be back?" Satoshi cried, following after the blonde.

"If they don't dispose of me."

Krad turned a corner and was lost. By the time Satoshi had reached where the blonde had been standing, he had already vanished. "What…?"

He made his way back to Daisuke and Dark. "What was that all about?"

Satoshi looked at Dark. "He said he had to leave. Before someone noticed he was gone."

Dark stood, frozen for a long moment. "They've still got him?"

"What are you talking about, Dark?" Daisuke asked.

"It's nothing. Nothing you should worry yourselves with."

Satoshi nearly opened his mouth to protest, though Dark cut him off. " What I want to know, Satoshi, is why you're so intent on figuring this out. You want answers, but why?"

"…Because Krad said he knew me."

"So?"

"I want to know how. I want to know why I've seen him in my dreams all my life."

_--_

_Talk about a long update, eh? Well, let me assure that this will not happen again. I say that all the time, but this time I happen to mean it. I'm not too much for words, now, because I've got to be getting off, however, I will say this, in case any of you were confused:_

_Krad and Dark, are, dead. Ghosts. That much you've gathered from the story, however: Dark can be seen and heard by nearly everyone he comes in contact with. Krad can be seen by Daisuke and Satoshi, thought only Satoshi can hear him. Dark and Krad cannot see nor hear each other. This will be explained in the next chapter, I hope…_

_Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!_


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